Italian Street Pizza Restaurant Roars Into West U Thanks to a Professional Motorcycle Racer: BYOB Joint Will Have No Corking Fee

Roman-style street pizza is revving up in West University. Early this summer, Pizza Motus: Roman Inspired Cucina will open. Run by a former professional motorcycle road racer, the pizza al’taglio concept will be located at 6119 Edloe, in the old Edloe Street Cafe space.

Owner Will Gruy is trading in a life of Harley Davidsons and helmet hair for hospitality. Gruy was based in Italy, and spent years during his childhood and young adulthood in Rome. When in Rome, do as the Romans do: make crispy, unforgettable street pizza.

He’s going for authenticity, with a twist.

“A lot of places go for authenticity and do a great job. But for me, authentic is the pizzeria that’s by the house you grew up in,” Gruy tells PaperCity. And Houston homes aren’t on cobblestone streets.

“I’m not going to be that pizzeria in Italy. I’m going to be that pizzeria here,” Gruy says.

Opening a Roman-style pizzeria has been on his mind for ages. He sped up the timeline over the last year. Gruy moved back to Texas in 2013 to attend The University of Texas at Austin for grad school.

After earning his MBA, “I thought after I made money doing something else, I’d open a restaurant as an old man,” Gruy says. “I decided I just didn’t want to wait that long.”

Roman-style pizza was a staple of Gruy’s diet for years and years. Moving to Houston to be closer to his family, he discovered he could only find New York and Neapolitan style pizza, not to mention the disappointing Papa John’s and Pizza Hut.

“I realized that my diet had completely changed. I went from eating pizza all the time to hardly ever eating it,” Gruy says.

That just wasn’t good enough, any way you slice it. That was the start of Pizza Motus, which gets its name from Latin. “Motus” is Latin for inspiration and movement, which reminds Gruy of the streets of Rome.

“I thought I should just start making it,” Gruy says. “So I did.”

Pizza Motus’ Roman Difference

The pizza is certainly inspired: the rectangle-cut Roman type has an airiness, a three-dimensionality not found in the chewy round pies of other cultures. Roman-style pizza is baked in a steel baking sheet — and fermented with a high-protein dough.

The savory slices don’t get soggy because of the baking process, making them perfect for leftovers — if you can resist eating them all then and there.

Gruy’s favorites range from your simple, straightforward to pizzas to the complex and creamy.

“One of my favorites is just San Marzano tomatoes and anchovies,” Gruy says. “It’s old man pizza.”

On the more daring side, he goes for porcini mushrooms with truffle cream sauce. He calls it spectacular but strong. A barbecue pizza crossover may make the cut. A brisket-topped pie is already in the works.

Aside from pizzas, Gruy is most excited about the sandwich options he’s planning for the Pizza Motus menu. In an unheard-of-in-Texas move, he’s using pizza bread to make the sandwiches. In Italy, that’s called Bianca.

You can expect Roman staples like Caprese with prosciutto, tomato, mozzarella and arugula. Like Mortadella, it’s “tried and true,” Gruy notes. He added a Texas touch to the menu with a fried chicken sandwich, brined in rosemary salt.

Grain bowls, salads, Italian ice and rotating desserts add a splash of variety to the menu. The new restaurant will be a BYOB joint with no corking fee. “The objective is to make people happy, not annoy them,” Gruy laughs.

Diners can order from the entire menu either inside the restaurant itself of at the walk-up window right outside. It’s ideal for both a lazy lunch or an on-the-go snack.

The location kind of snuck up on Gruy. When he was first planning the restaurant, “I did a ton of analytics. Then I threw them in the trash. I looked at it and said ‘Yes, this is good,’ ” Gruy says.

“It was pure gut. I just stood there and felt it was right.”